Prof. Michelle Walker

Michelle Walker is a jazz vocalist and voice educator. She graduated with a degree in Jazz Voice from the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim in 2007. Over the years, she has been inspired and mentored by renowned musicians such as Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian, Peter Eldridge, Judy Niemack, Norbert Gottschalk, Jay Clayton, Frank Sikora, Michele Weir, Lauren Newton, Bob Stoloff, Rosanna Eckert, and Reinette van Zijtveld-Lustig.

As a vocalist, Michelle has performed extensively with pop bands and jazz ensembles both in Germany and abroad. In 2003 and 2004, she appeared as a guest at the Stadttheater Pforzheim. She released her solo debut in 2005 with her band Lauschleben. In 2012, she recorded the notable album 3rd Step with the Rhein-Neckar Orchestra, followed by an electro-lounge album with Coolanova in 2014. Her 2021 album, Back To You, brought together top musicians from the pop and jazz scenes. For over 20 years, she has collaborated in a duo with Daniele Aprile, blending reinterpretations of jazz standards with original compositions that bridge modern vocal jazz and soul. Her creative energy also fuels the Michelle Walker Quartet with Rudi Engel and Michael Arlt, where improvisation, vocalise solos and arranged passages pay homage to jazz legends.

Michelle is a dedicated voice educator. From 2023 to 2026, she taught jazz voice and ensemble at the Saar University of Music, and since 2023, she has been teaching in the music education, EMP, and IGP programs at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. From 2017 to 2022, she led the jazz voice department at the University of Music Würzburg. Since 2004, she has also offered private lessons and taught at various institutions, including the Heidelberg University of Education, Musikschule Südliche Bergstraße, and Musikschule Badische Bergstraße.